My Only Sunshine

Dinner at My House

We are a busy family.  With both my Girlies dancing with the ballet company this year, we spend a large part of dinner time driving back and forth to dance classes.  Last year at this time I made the commitment to cooking at home as often as I can even with those crazy time constraints.  Not only do I cook at home, but I try very hard to have well balanced meals that are both yummy and if not always perfectly healthy, at least not terribly unhealthy.  I've noticed a huge change in my family from this year long commitment to eating better.  Buster and I have lost weight and are feeling great.  The Girlies have gained healthy muscle mass which they needed.  Take a look.

Now I'm going to show you what kinds of things we eat.  My kids have developed a love of all things sea food and Bug loves nothing more than going to the fresh fish counter at Central Market and asking for one of everything.  Last week we had mediterranean tilapia with baked zucchini fries.  This is pretty much Bug's favorite meal.  It's not the prettiest dish I cook but it tastes really good and is so healthy.  The tilapia is cooked on the stove and then the oven with onions, tomatoes, and capers.  The zucchini batons are dredged in egg whites and breadcrumbs and then baked until crispy.

Last night we had stuffed shells.  Bitty loves Italian food.  Buster and I don't love all the carbs.  This was a good way to go.  Part-Skim Ricotta cheese from Central Market was dialed up with herbs, mascarpone, and my favorite sea salt.

Then Bug spooned it into a zip top bag for easing stuffing.

See, a little help from the kid and cooked shells are easy to turn into stuffed shells.  We stuffed them really really full so we could use fewer shells and more yummy cheesyness.

I went easy last night and used premade meatballs from the butcher.  They were fennely and delicious.  I also used Rao's sauce.  It was the best prepackaged marinara I have ever eaten.  Sure, I could have made sauce from scratch, meatballs too.  I may have mentioned back at the top how busy we are.  This was a good compromise and the kids went back for more. 

 

Cheesy Stuffed Shells

 

12 ounce box of jumbo shells

15 ounces of Ricotta cheese

4 ounces of Mascarpone cheese

1 egg

2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon Italian spice mix

1 jar marinara or red sauce of your choice

store bought or homemade meatballs

shredded mozzarella cheese

salt

pepper

 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

 Cook the shells according to the directions on the package and drain.

 While the shells are cooking mix together the ricotta, mascarpone, egg, parmesan, spice mix, and salt and pepper to taste.  Fill a large zip top bag with your cheese mixture.  When your pasta is done drain it well and then cut the tip of your cheese bag and pipe cheese into pasta.  As you fill the shells, place them in a lightly greased (I use olive oil spray) baking dish.

 Brown your meatballs in a pan on the stove.  Cook your meatballs at least ¾ of the way through before adding them to your pan with your stuffed shells.  If you need your dinner faster then make sure your meat is cooked all the way through so that your pasta will not need to bake as long.

 Cover pasta and meatballs with your sauce and then sprinkle with mozzerella.

 Bake pasta in the preheated oven for 30 minutes or until meatballs are cooked all the way through and the cheese on top is golden and delicious.

 

My kid loves me

Bug made this for me while we were on a trip to Ruidoso, NM.  Isn't it fantastic?

No Way!

I know, right?  I'm back.  I bet you didn't think I would ever come back.  I didn't think so either.  I woke up one morning totally burned out on blogging.  Not just blogging either, reading blogs as well.  Would you like to know what has changed?  3 things, My mother and my friend Donna both recently asked about my blog, and my husband mentioned that his cousin keeps up with my kids via my blog.  I didn't know anyone in that family knew about the blog (Hi Sara!).  I hate that I'm not documenting my kids' lives here anymore, so here I am.

Support the Swim Bug

If you keep track of my blog and all the crazy things I drag my kids to every week then you know that this year Bug started swimming for the city swim team.  She's not the best swimmer on the team, but she has grown so much as part of this team.  The amazing coaches always make her feel good about herself.  The exertion of the swimming makes her glow with health.  The swim meets have taught her an amazing amount of maturity.

In May, Bug will be swimming in the Swim-a-thon to raise money for her swim team.  95% of the money raised goes to the team to pay for pool rental, equipment, and scholarships.  The other 5% goes to USA Swimming.  Every team swimmer is a member of USA Swimming which insures them and provides safety and swim programs all over the country.

Bug's goal, set by the team, is $200.  I think Bug can do better than that.  If you would like to help support her team there are two options.  You can pledge per lap or pledge a flat rate.  We would be happy with any amount you have to give.  Enough people give $1 and it can make a difference.

To make a pledge email me at myonlysunshine@me.com.  Thank you.  

Amanda

We miss Frisco...

...but you couldn't make us leave Richardson.

There are so many things about Richardson that make it home.  I have so much I like about Richardson that it is making my post two days late.  (Oh come on, I can use that excuse if I want to, it's my blog!)

The first thing about Richardson...  I grew up here.

I went to high school in Richardson.

Richardson is close to where my babies are buried.

We lived in Richardson when the beautiful bouncing Bug was born. (she had those crazy blue eyes even then)

We lived in Richardson again when pretty itty Bitty was born. (she was sassy even then)

 

At our house in Richardson we spend our lazy summer days like this.

My friends here are fantastic. 

The boys in Frisco are cute.  The boys in Richardson are cute too.  I can't help but love how funny they are too.  The best part, they are so nice to my Girlies.  The Moms in Richardson are really doing something right.

      

Speaking of moms, look how hard these moms are working to make a great day for their kids.

I love that in Richardson Bit can make friends like M.  Through M she has learned how it feels to be needed.  Through M's Mom she has learned how it feels to be appreciated for being a good friend.  It can be hard for kids to share that with each other.

One of the biggest reasons we moved to Richardson was its proximity to stuff.  Richardson is close to just about everything we want to do.  Most importantly it is close to dance.  We used to drive endless hours every week getting to the dance school in Richardson all the way from Frisco.  This is important because if we were still so far away we wouldn't be able to do Girl Scouts...

...while doing this...

We wouldn't be able to do volleyball...

 

...while doing this...

We wouldn't be able to swim...

 
...while doing this...

Richardson has an annual Christmas parade that we liked to come to even when we didn't live in Richardson.  Add that sense of community to the sense of community we get from our own neighborhood putting on a 4th of July parade and you get a strong sense of small town home.  It feels even more like a small town when our entire neighborhood trick or treats on the same street where our neighbors put on a huge haunted house.

The Richardson school district has a full day gifted program so that little Van Goghs like this...

...can feel inspired to make works of art like this...

 

Our school has an annual talent show so that kids this cute can show how very clever they are.

The best part of Richardson is being close to friends...

 

...and family.

We love Richardson...

...but the Girlies and I have been missing Frisco lately too.

 
 We miss Frisco because we had great art teachers there.  Not only great art teachers but great art programs that let our kids be in their own gallery show at the high school.
Not only did they do cool stuff at the high schools in Frisco, but we all got to go together to fantastic field trips like the Dallas World Aquarium.
It was always fun going to school in Frisco but it was a special kind of fun on days when the Girlies got to dress up like Mommy when she was in that grade.
Oh, and Bitty had Madonna for a first grade teacher.  (We love you Mrs. H).
I get pretty teared up thinking about these guys.  This is my DI team at competition.  What a beautiful, smart, funny group of kids.
Our house was pretty awesome, even if it only had one tiny little sad tree.
I mentioned the art teacher, but she didn't have the biggest impact of the specials teachers.  This is one of many all grade music programs we got to participate in.  Mrs. M is the best music teacher to ever live and boy were we lucky to get to spend a couple of years with her.
Bit loves Frisco because her friend Amanda lives there.
 
Who doesn't love "dress like your favorite book character" day?
You can't beat an idea like having all the kids in each grade get a shirt that shows their tight bond with their grade.  It helps you keep up with them on field trips too.

 How can a Mommy not love a school that brings all the kids together at the end of the year and praises them for the things they did well that year? Bitty also loves Frisco because her friend Maddie lives there.  What a great kid.
Though I could talk about what cute boys they have in Frisco, this picture was really to show you Bitty getting her positive referral.  I've really missed this practice of sending a kid to the principal's office for being caught doing something good.  They get a call to the parents, a certificate, an announcement, and a t-shirt stating that they had achieved the ultimate goal.
Bug misses her friends too.
I mean, have you ever seen a more beautiful group of girls who are all crazy about each other?
Last but not least.  Our house in Frisco was pretty cool.
It didn't need foundation work and there wasn't an ant to be seen.
We love and miss you Frisco.  Tomorrow we'll talk about why we love Richardson.

i Heart Faces - Dance

Wow, this week at i <3 Faces they are doing a dance theme.  Made for me, isn't it?

 
Here's Bitty as the Brown Mouse in this year's Nutcracker.  This was her dream role and she got it.  Go Bitty.

The Mushrooms

Bug has three BFFs at school.  They eat together, play together, email each other, and have sleep overs as often as they can talk the parents into it.  They call themselves the "mushrooms" and love to make each other little crayon pictures of mushrooms and things like that.  They each have a color for their own mushroom persona.

Bug and I decided to make necklaces for each of the mushrooms in their colors.  While Bug was stringing beads onto Stretch Magic I was making little mushroom charms out of polymer clay.

 

The green one is for Bug.  I didn't want a head pin to show at the bottom so I used an eye pin stuck almost to the bottom of the mushroom and then added a drop of jewelry glue to hold the pin in after the curing was done.

 

The beaded cord matches the 'shrooms and is stretchy so it will fit over the kids' heads.  This is the first time I have used Stretch Magic and so far it is holding up really well.  They have been wearing their mushrooms for a couple of weeks now with no breakage.  These are 4th graders; they aren't the most gentle jewelry owners.

 

I tied the cord in two knots to secure it and applied a drop of jewelry glue between the knots.  The place where the cord is tied off is not noticeable at all.

I've been having fun with the polymer clay the last couple of weeks.  I got burned out on it when I was working with it every day for my knitting needle business.  I guess it has been long enough to get back to enjoying it.

Here's a pic of the 'shrooms in their necklaces.

Swim Bug

So obviously my kids are involved in lots of stuff.  If you've ever come around here before you can't help but notice that I have two little ballet dancers, a couple of tappers, a jazz and lyrical jazz dancer or two, a swimmer, a volleyball player, two girl scouts, and I'm probably forgetting some.  Yes, all of that in the form of two tiny little girls.

Today I'll just be showing off my swimmer Bug kid.  A couple of weeks ago she had her first big meet and boy was she great.

She swam two mornings in a row, 3 events each day.  This was her first time and she was thrown right in.  The kids are expected to know where they need to be, when they need to be there.  The meet doesn't stop once it has begun.  One event (some with many many heats) is run right after another.  Also, no parents on the pool deck so us moms can't be helping them get where they need to go, when they need to go there.  Bug didn't miss a step though, not even in a room with hundreds of swimmers all moving and talking and swimming at once.

Here's Bug swimming her 100scy (short course yards) Freestyle.  For a kid who has only really been swimming for a year or so, she has great form.  She also did the 50y Free.

Here's the little sweetie Bug dipping her feet in the warm-up pool.  She was very patiently waiting to swim her 100y IM (Individual medley).

Bug is pretty slow in the Breast Stroke but she went for it in the 100y IM and the 50y breast anyway.  I was a very proud Mommy.  She was DQ'd for each but that was to be expected.  She hasn't had much time practicing how to get her breast and butterfly rhythm correct or how to turn and touch at the end.  On top of that, Bug hadn't ever jumped off the blocks until the warm-ups for this meet.  She's a big, brave Bug.

Backstroke is Bug's best stroke and she competed in the 50 and 100y back.  It was so much fun to watch.  Meets can get pretty boring in between the heats your kid is in but it still made for a great weekend.  The next meet is Valentine's Day weekend and we are looking forward to it.  There's just one problem...

...Bug was diagnosed last week with anterior tibialis tendinitis.  

She is supposed to rest for 2 weeks which means no dance and no swim training that involves her feet.  Her coach has her doing dry deck arm and core work and next week she will be swimming with a pull buoy so that she won't be using her legs or feet at all.  We'll see how it goes.

I Finished Something!!

I recently posted a review, on Craft Critique, of a product I got at CHA this summer.  Now that it is nearly time for CHA winter I thought I should show you what I made.

I made these yoga socks for Bug on my Clover 9" circular needle.  Go take a look at my review.  As you can see, I love this knitting needle! 

I do pretty well with the magic loop method.  I'm even relatively good with two circs.  I just can't seem to get good at DPNs at all.  With just one short needle I can whip up a project so fast that even my short attention span doesn't run out before it is finished.  Shocking isn't it?

Can you see Bug's cute little chill bumps up there?  What a great foot model I have.  She'll roll up her pants and go out in the cold with me for a photo shoot.  She is getting a really cool pair of socks out of the deal.  At least I think they are.

These are knit with Knit Picks sock yarn that is so old that they don't have anything like it on their website anymore.  It's close to this though.

I made up the pattern myself.  It's basically just a tube.  I knit some 1x1 rib, then switched to 4x1 rib.  Then I knit another section of 1x1 rib and I cast off half of the stitches in the middle of the section and cast them back on in the next round.  When I switched back to the 4x1 rib I threw in a few K2tog.  A little more 1x1 rib and I was ready to cast off.

Aren't they cute on my little dancer Bug?  She's most excited to have socks she can wear with her flip flops.  She wants to wear new Croc flip flops no matter how cold it is outside.  Silly girl.